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Tuesday, June 26, 2018

ISTE 2018 Tuesday Keynote Part 3: Rabbi Michael Cohen

Rabbi Michael Cohen, "The Tech Rabbi," was the third keynote Tuesday at ISTE 2018. I had the pleasure of hearing Cohen speak at a session at ISTE 2016, and was excited to hear him keynote. His background is in design and graphic arts, and his slides showcase his amazing skills.

He began by sharing that a student had emailed him about a problem idea that he didn’t
think was possible, but knew that Cohen would be inspirational and give him
ideas. It showed Cohen that he was making a difference in that student's life, but also....

....So much energy is invested in helping students to squire knowledge, but how much time is green to help them think about the abstract.

Cohen said we should focus on instilling Belief in Self, Belief in Others , and that there is something bigger than
themselves

Experiment take risks and courage to do something about
those light bulb moments.

What abilities are we helping our students do?

Cohen had some VERY "tweetable quotes!"

Every educator is a designer for someone.

Creativity is a
mindset not an artset.

Sometimes our creativity is purged by the fear of being
judged by others.

Sometimes the person judging us is ourselves. We need to unpack that.

What does exploration look like in K-12 today?

After school (My note: in a subsequent session, it was noted that if this is the only time this can happen at your school, you have an equity problem!)

Lunch elective

20% time

Creativity isn’t something you get, it’s something you reveal

Nothing…Something

Creativity is strong in goodness, kindness and desire to help
others. It is social and collaborative.